N18: The Dreaming City by Michael Moorcock

Book Review!

N18: The Dreaming City by Michael Moorcock

Continuing my “Appendix N” series, I present to you another work by an author Gary Gygax recommended: Michael Moorcock’s The Dreaming City. My paperback version contain 189 pages with a copyright date of 1972. I noticed that the dedication page included: “To Poul Anderson for The Broken Sword and Three Hearts and Three Lions. To the late Fletcher Pratt for The Well of the Unicorn.” He also mentioned Bertold Brecht and expressed that all of those authors influences the Elric stories.

The Good

*This story sets up an exciting series of novels, but stands out well on its own as well.

*The tale included a great main character with Elric.

*Stormbringer (the impressive magic sword)!

The Bad

*While the story stands out as a fun political/adventure tale, some people might criticize the novel as lacking in literary quality.

D&D Connections & Inspirations

*Both dungeons and dragons (Dragon Caves, Dragon Isle, etc.) are mentioned throughout the story.

*Stormbringer inspired the creation of special D&D magic swords.

*The story makes for a good combination of politics and combat, exploring the main pillars of D&D/RPGing.

Overall

For my tastes, I give the work a 6/10 rating and recommend reading the book as part of a fun, relaxing weekend. But watch out, because you might end up wanting to read the entire series!